OTISFIELD, Maine — The U.S. Postal Service has reversed its decision to get rid of a rural Maine town’s lone mailbox after a protest that included phone blitz, pressure from elected officials and a blockade to prevent the removal of the box.

Regional postal spokesman Tom Rizzo said in a statement issued this week that the agency has decided to leave Otisfield’s mailbox in place.

News of Otisfield’s plight drew national attention, and letters of support for the town’s 1,700 residents came from as far as away as Louisiana and California. A professor from Monterey, Calif., is using the story for his critical thinking class.

Marianne Izzo-Morin, Otisfield’s administrative assistant, told the Sun Journal of Lewiston that the outpouring of support is “unbelievable.”